1. Related Technical Fields
Related technical fields include vehicle behavior learning apparatuses, methods, and programs.
2. Related Art
When one thinks of privately owned vehicles, for example, a specific driver frequently drives his/her vehicle on the same route. In some cases, the vehicle frequently performs a specific behavior in a specific vehicle position. In this situation, “behaviors” include operations that are performed while the vehicle is driven to a specific place such as the driver's home, work, or a store, for example, turning to the left or to the right, reducing the speed, opening and closing the windows, turning on and off the lights, and performing a kick-down with an automatic transmission.
These days, navigation systems that provide route guidance are installed in many vehicles. Various ideas have been suggested for expanding the application of the functions of navigation systems to other purposes besides providing route guidance. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2002-286459 (paragraphs 1-14 and 24-28) discloses an invention related to a controlling device for a blind spot monitor to be used with a vehicle that has a navigation system installed therein.
When a manual switch for activating the blind spot monitor is operated, the controlling device for the blind spot monitor stores therein, as activation information, data related to a point of location at which the vehicle is positioned, the data being input from the navigation system. The controlling device searches for and cross-checks the activation information with respect to a piece of input information from the navigation system so as to send out an activation signal to activate the blind spot monitor when the vehicle arrives at the point of location. The navigation system manages road information based on lines (i.e., links) each of which connects coordinate points (i.e., nodes) such as intersections. In the case where the point of location at which the manual switch is operated is on a road to which a link number is assigned, the activation information is stored including the link number, the coordinates, and the moving direction of the vehicle. In the case where the point of location is somewhere other than on a road to which a link number is assigned, the activation information is stored while including the coordinates and the moving direction of the vehicle. The point of location at which the vehicle is positioned is calculated by using, together with a GPS system, a hybrid system that estimates the point of location based on a vehicle speed signal and an angular velocity signal, by employing an autonomous navigation method.